Offenders will then be visited by a "recycling sheriff"' who will inspect their bins as part of the controversial scheme.

Last night the council officials were widely criticised for using tactics that will "turn neighbour against neighbour" and lead to families facing fines up to £2,500.

The plan to get residents to report their neighbours was revealed after Teignbridge District Council distributed thousands of leaflets asking residents to look out for people who do not recycle correctly.

Under the headline: "Wanted: People who can't recycle or won't recycle," it reads: "It is now easier than ever to recycle yet 30 per cent of residents still aren't!"

"Do you know of someone in your road who is not doing their bit? Do you feel strongly enough about it to let us help them?"

"Then contact us free on 0800 7310323 and a recycling sheriff will be there to assist."

The council says it has been forced to adopt the strategy to tackle residents who do not adhere to their complex four-bin recycling scheme.

But there are fears the recycling "hotline" could lead to numerous prosecutions as well as prank calls from people who have disputes with their neighbours.

One resident, who asked not to be named said: "It is a sneaky business to turn neighbour against neighbour - a dream come true for every curtain twitcher and busy-body."

"The council should be ashamed of itself to use such underhand tactics."

The leaflet was distributed to thousands of homes in several Devon towns including Newton Abbot, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth where all homes have four bins each, consisting of separate containers for newspapers, glass, food waste and non-recyclable landfill.

Last night a spokesman for the Liberal Democrat controlled council insisted the leaflet was not meant to be "sinister" or designed to seek prosecutions.

She said: "The council just wanted to help people who were having difficulty getting to grips with recycling."

"This is all about providing assistance to people who aren't sure about how to recycle, particularly the elderly."

News of the scheme emerged after one man made a personal protest against fortnightly rubbish collections.

When bin men refused to collect John Chandler's rubbish yesterday he threw the bag in to the lorry himself.

Mr Chandler, a mechanic, says he and his neighbours are fed up with mountains of bags left uncollected because of rules which restrict residents to one wheelie bin every two weeks.

The 28-year-old father-of-one said: "It looks awful, you can always smell the rubbish when you're walking up the street."

"Lots of people are upset about it. I've tried talking to the council but nothing has happened so I decided to take action."

But the council claims that John is failing to recycle his waste properly and is threatening legal action against him for allegedly intimidating refuse collectors.

Last weekend the Daily Mail told how fortnightly rubbish collections are to be forced on millions of homeowners in a backdoor campaign."

Town hall chiefs have been told to end weekly visits by the binmen in winter - so that the cold weather keeps down the smell and vermin.

The hope is that by the summer, when the odours and rats return, it will be too late to bring back once-a-week collections.

The guidance over fortnightly collections comes in the wake of concern over Government plans to slap extra taxes on rubbish.

One in ten councils has started fitting wheelie bins with microchips which weigh rubbish so that householders can be billed by the kilo.